Fewer than half the Britons questioned in a poll had any idea that US and Canadian troops fought in the First World War. Barely more than a third knew that Australia and New Zealand were involved.

The level of ignorance revealed by the survey even extended to what side countries fought on. More than half the respondents did not know that Turkey fought on the German side, despite the notoriety of the abortive invasion of the Gallipoli peninsula.

The research, carried out in Britain and six other countries, showed that knowledge of the conflict was largely limited to the fighting